News Disney plans to accelerate Parks investment to $60 billion over 10 years

[J4546]

It will be like any other time that Universal opens something big. When Islands of adventures open the fan based went crazy, what is Disney going to do to surpass this?
The IOA opened didn't do as well but did give Disney some competition then it settled down.

Next came Volcano Bay, Universal marketed as a an immersive theme park. What is Disney going to do?
it opened did well brought in the tourist but Disney did fine.

Epic will open to huge success, it will draw crowds like any brand new theme park for the first couple years then it will settle down. Disney will stagger open new lands and both Universal and Disney will do fine.

just wanted to chime in and say Volcano Bay is awesome, will def be going back next FL trip

 

[UNCgolf]

Yes, both will be fine, and they'll both see attendance increases.

BUT, there's serious concern over whether Disney "loses" a day to Epic now that Universal offers serious opportunities to visit. If all 4 WDW parks we're built with enough capacity, WDW wouldn't have to worry about losing a day to Epic or the other UOR parks. But Disney has serious issues with not having enough in one park (DAK) and capacity woes at another (DHS).

I don't think it's a serious concern until Universal does a major overhaul of USF. It will be by far the weakest park among the seven -- people can just stop in there for a couple of hours to do Diagon Alley and maybe Revenge of the Mummy then ride the Hogwarts Express back over to IoA for the rest of their day.

For me, both IoA and USF are easily doable in a single day (especially with Express Pass), mainly because USF has almost nothing (IoA doesn't really offer that much to me either, but it has enough for other guests).

I think it would be tough to skip any of the four Disney parks in favor of spending a full day at USF in its current state.

 

[Mark Dunne]

I think you are wrong about them not needing anything new. they are probably 12-16 attractions low . They have 25% more guests and no net new attractions ( many worse if you gauge it by guest through put by hour). This has lead to the mess WDW is now. They haven't invested enough over the last 15 years and where they did invest, the money wasn't spent wisely. Almost as if they have lost the knowledge of how to run a theme park. The decision makers don't walk in their guests footsteps so they don't have a clue.

I see what your saying, so if they fix say imagination , plus that Pixar shorts movie, that used to be HISTA, that’s 2, over to Mk fix what I said with top attractions , that’s another 3 or maybe 4, so that say 6 attractions that would help even the parks out a bit, there to many weak attractions , the amount of people now in these parks needs big crowd eaters ,and what’s better than a theatre to solve that issue, I agree they have been far to slow in acting , wait til 2025 comes around , interesting times ahead for sure !

 

[flynnibus]

It will be like any other time that Universal opens something big. When Islands of adventures open the fan based went crazy, what is Disney going to do to surpass this?
The IOA opened didn't do as well but did give Disney some competition then it settled down.

Next came Volcano Bay, Universal marketed as a an immersive theme park. What is Disney going to do?
it opened did well brought in the tourist but Disney did fine.

Epic will open to huge success, it will draw crowds like any brand new theme park for the first couple years then it will settle down. Disney will stagger open new lands and both Universal and Disney will do fine.

UNI Is doing more than fine... they've doubled their hotel count... they can maintain prices higher than Disney.. and are set to expand yet again.

That kind of customer volume doesn't come w/o some opportunity loss for Disney.

"Fine" isn't the standard either company is aiming for.

 

[fgmnt]

"Iger went on to list recent openings at Walt Disney World, including Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, the EPCOT transformation, and TRON Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom."

-NONE OF THIS will compete with what Universal is building. Yes, Disney will be OK, not great. All of the above things took 5 YEARS to build 1 Attraction...Universal BUILT an entire park in 5 years! What has DIsney done in 5 years? Gave us 1 attraction!
I am planning a October 2026 trip, the way Disney is nickel and diming guests, I personally WILL NOT go to Disney and not feel like I am not getting my monies worth. We have opted to spend the $179.00 and go to MNSSHP instead of a MK day! At least we will be getting a little more bang for our buck! and we will get to see a few things that day guests won't get to see, like the Headless Horseman, trick or treating!

All of these things were initiated 7+ years ago.

 

[monothingie]

"We've been aware of Universal's plans for a new park for more than a decade. And we have a sophisticated approach to analyzing the needs of all of our businesses and strategically deploying capital."

Translation: We don't have the capability to dynamically respond to our competition because of our sophisticated organizational limitations.

"By staggering these major launches, we've been able to commercially and operationally optimize our new offerings over time, rather than having to do it all at once. And based on the guest experience that we've heard all about, from all of these items that I just mentioned, we know that they're extremely popular and they're serving our guests extremely well."

Translation: New stuff cost money and we have to make sure that D+ becomes profitable at all costs. Also our internal surveys revealed that guests can't get enough of perpetual construction walls.

 

[monothingie]

I missed it but let me guess?

“Synergy”
“Drive value”
“Focus on core business”
“Go to Market”
“40,000 foot level”
“At the end of the day”
“Contain costs”
“Core alignment”
“Restructure departments”
“Realign with core values”
“Laser focused”

(Insert ones here)

"activations"

 

[Disney Analyst]

I don't think it's a serious concern until Universal does a major overhaul of USF. It will be by far the weakest park among the seven -- people can just stop in there for a couple of hours to do Diagon Alley and maybe Revenge of the Mummy then ride the Hogwarts Express back over to IoA for the rest of their day.

For me, both IoA and USF are easily doable in a single day (especially with Express Pass), mainly because USF has almost nothing (IoA doesn't really offer much to me either, but it has enough for other guests).

I think it would be tough to skip any of the four Disney parks in favor of spending a full day at USF in its current state.

I firmly agree that USF stands to lose the most from EU.

 

[CJR]

I firmly agree that USF stands to lose the most from EU.

I think Universal also agrees with this, and it is a concern for them. The funny thing is, they really believed that F&F would be a huge hit. I think anyone from the outside looking in could have told them better.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I think Universal also agrees with this, and it is a concern for them. The funny thing is, they really believed that F&F would be a huge hit. I think anyone from the outside looking in could have told them better.

And even Diagon is an easy skip at this point. The better attractions are in Hogsmeade, and the newest Harry Potter addition will be in EU, so if you are going to skip a park, USF becomes the obvious choice.

 

[Rich Brownn]

It will be like any other time that Universal opens something big. When Islands of adventures open the fan based went crazy, what is Disney going to do to surpass this?
The IOA opened didn't do as well but did give Disney some competition then it settled down.

Next came Volcano Bay, Universal marketed as a an immersive theme park. What is Disney going to do?
it opened did well brought in the tourist but Disney did fine.

Epic will open to huge success, it will draw crowds like any brand new theme park for the first couple years then it will settle down. Disney will stagger open new lands and both Universal and Disney will do fine.

IOA outdrew all Disney parks except the MK last year. There's blood in the water

 

[Gringrinngghost]

Bob Iger sheds light on Disney's response to upcoming Universal Epic Universe in Orlando​

Bob Iger sheds light on Disney's response to upcoming Universal Epic Universe in Orlando

Bob Iger sheds light on Disney's response to upcoming Universal Epic Universe in Orlando

www.wdwmagic.com

Guess its time for the bombardment of the nonsensical postings about how Disney has nothing in the pipeline to compete with Epic Universe... of course they would not want to announce an investment like that just haphazardly. It makes sense for them to be wait for Epic Universe opens to announce a fifth gate, to draw interest away from them. But then again, and I said this on twitter, some of you clamoring for answers are the same type to say Bay Lake Tower wasn’t a hotel let alone a project when it was 40ft off the ground then because Disney didn't announce it.

 

[Rich Brownn]

I think Universal also agrees with this, and it is a concern for them. The funny thing is, they really believed that F&F would be a huge hit. I think anyone from the outside looking in could have told them better.

Not the exec's in Florida. They didn't want the damn thing. But the higher ups approved it on the condition the budget build two for cost sharing. They were stuck with it.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Translation: We don't have the capability to dynamically respond to our competition because of our sophisticated organizational limitations.

Translation: New stuff cost money and we have to make sure that D+ becomes profitable at all costs. Also our internal surveys revealed that guests can't get enough of perpetual construction walls.

Thanks. I had just gotten the vomit taste out of my mouth from the first time I read that. Now I need to go repeat the process...

 

[Rich Brownn]

Guess its time for the bombardment of the nonsensical postings about how Disney has nothing in the pipeline to compete with Epic Universe... of course they would not want to announce an investment like that just haphazardly. It makes sense for them to be wait for Epic Universe opens to announce a fifth gate, to draw interest away from them. But then again, and I said this on twitter, some of you clamoring for answers are the same type to say Bay Lake Tower wasn’t a hotel let alone a project when it was 40ft off the ground then because Disney didn't announce it.

There will be no fifth gate. And they haven't even broken ground on anything, which means anything they start is 3-5 years away. One can assume Universal isn't going to sit on their butts all that time. There's Zelda for IOA and possibly new coaster for USF among other.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

Not the exec's in Florida. They didn't want the damn thing. But the higher ups approved it on the condition the budget build two for cost sharing. They were stuck with it.

Funnily enough, I was told a completely different story for the attraction from those in the know at the time. The ride system cost them nothing, as it was because of Kong's contract not being fulfilled in time.

 

[UNCgolf]

And even Diagon is an easy skip at this point. The better attractions are in Hogsmeade, and the newest Harry Potter addition will be in EU, so if you are going to skip a park, USF becomes the obvious choice.

I'd personally choose Diagon Alley over Hogsmeade -- Gringotts is obviously a weaker attraction, but everything else about Diagon Alley is so much better -- but IoA offers plenty beyond Hogsmeade and USF offers almost nothing beyond Diagon Alley.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I'd personally choose Diagon Alley over Hogsmeade -- Gringotts is obviously a weaker attraction, but everything else about Diagon Alley is so much better -- but IoA offers plenty beyond Hogsmeade and USF offers almost nothing beyond Diagon Alley.

Hogsmeade, the castle, they are so iconic and impactful, add in Hagrid’s, and the rest of IOA, easy choice over USF / Diagon.

I agree that Diagon itself is an amazing land, but I still think classic Hogsmeade is the bigger draw, at least for me.

 

[UNCgolf]

Hogsmeade, the castle, they are so iconic and impactful, add in Hagrid’s, and the rest of IOA, easy choice over USF / Diagon.

I agree that Diagon itself is an amazing land, but I still think classic Hogsmeade is the bigger draw, at least for me.

IoA is absolutely an easy choice over USF overall -- I just think Diagon is significantly better than Hogsmeade outside of the attractions (and I don't think Forbidden Journey is great, so it's mostly just Hagrid's).

I think Universal made a big mistake by using Hogwarts as nothing more than a facade and some queue space, but I'm sure they also wish they could do things differently there now.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

There will be no fifth gate. And they haven't even broken ground on anything, which means anything they start is 3-5 years away. One can assume Universal isn't going to sit on their butts all that time. There's Zelda for IOA and possibly new coaster for USF among other.

Oh I am almost positive that they will add a fifth gate, but for the time being, UOR and Epic is not a concern for them. I figure, let's put some of the tea out there for everyone to draw their own conclusions.

Universal's concern is first to fix their buildings at USF. Simpsons is for all intents and purposes practically condemned at this point and only half the ride system is working. Mel's Dine-in for example, what was supposed to be a 3 month refurbishment which turned into 10 months and everything inside being redone, down to the fire suppression system. Then there is the laughable joke called Hollywood Rip Ride Rock it, which is also on the short list for removal, along with Simpsons, Fast, and MIB.

If you go to Citywalk, they want to and are slowly working on removing most third-party business from the property, now with Cinnabon and Quiet Flight, closing this month. The thing here too is that the leases are nearing completion for Moe's, Panda Express and Burger King which they've been wanting to remove for a while.

Now practically on Zelda, that is actually up in the air on where on property again. They have an expansion plot for Nintendo where they can put it. The plan was originally for USF but then it changed to IoA when Kids Zone was given a reprieve, from there it's entirely up in the air for now, but the thought process is that its likely Zelda would stay in IOA and Pokémon going to USF, but we still have the Expansion Plot at Epic as well. For Volcano Bay there is also that expansion plot they they did determine to not use but who knows if they will.

In the terms of Epic and overall, UOR is preparing for a reservation system, and have been using it on TMs now since January of 2023. Passholders are getting the first taste of that with the requirement for next year that the free HHN ticket will be subjected to park capacity based on a reservation system. Official nomenclature is for that perk on HHN tickets: "Advance online reservations are required starting with the 2025 event. Reservation is subject to event capacity." Funny thing is, I kept telling people that they were going to roll this out and people honestly thought that they weren't by thinking that UOR is the theme park version of T-Mobile during their "un-carrier" marketing days.

That being said on Epic, I for one would be surprised if they want to offer anything below multiple day/park tickets at first. Secondly, do fully expect their best APs to hit the $1,500 price point with the park opening. Volcano Bay is only worth on the best AP at non-resident pricing $190, and if pricing scales up in a linear fashion, USF and IoA are worth $452.5. Say we round that to the nearest dollar up, to 453, and you are looking a Non-resident Annual Pass at $1,359 and with Volcano Bay, at $1,549 (math wise, this puts them $100 Above the Incredi-pass for 2024.) So Interesting times are to be seen going forward.